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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/22591888">Doug</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/emimix3/pseuds/emimix3'>emimix3</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Check Please! (Webcomic)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Bad Ideas, Best Friends, Cats, Friendship, Gen, Social Media</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-02-06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-02-06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-04-28 13:49:06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,093</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/22591888</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/emimix3/pseuds/emimix3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>By now, Ford should know better than associating with her friends, because Tango only had the worse ideas, Whiskey never said no, and Ford was an enabler.<br/>But what do you want. Isn't friendship all about enabling each other's bad ideas, after all?</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Denice "Foxtrot" Ford &amp; Tony "Tango" Tangredi &amp; Connor "Whiskey" Whisk</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>54</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Bitty's Valentines Collection</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Doug</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This work has been written for <a href="https://dyinginjapanese.tumblr.com/">dyinginjapanese</a> !</p><p>I hope you'll enjoy this piece as much as I enjoyed working on it :) It was a pleasure to write this for you!</p><p>Thanks to Luminous_Bluebell for beta-ing</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p>
<p></p><div class="chat">
  <p>
    <strong>WTF</strong>
  </p>
  <p><em>Tango<br/>
</em>&gt; Guys I made a mistake</p>
  <p><em>Whiskey</em><br/>
&gt; What now</p>
  <p><em>Ford</em><br/>
&gt;&gt; I mean, if you noticed you made a mistake, you must have made a BIG mistake</p>
  <p><em>Tango</em><br/>
&gt; mmh just come to my dorm room</p>
  <p><em>Ford</em><br/>
&gt;&gt; Is that a ghost. Did you find a ghost in your room</p>
  <p><em>Whiskey</em><br/>
&gt; just stop with ghost hunting, it doesn’t work tango, you need to accept that</p>
  <p><em>Tango</em><br/>
&gt; bring meat if you’ve got some in your fridge</p>
  <p><em>Whiskey</em><br/>
&gt; What<br/>
&gt; Tony Tango Tangredi what</p>
</div><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>Ford shot a message to Whiskey when she was about to reach Tango’s dorm, and he replied to her that he would be there in two minutes – so, she waited for him at the building. Whiskey arrived, with a Tupperware in hand.</p><p> </p><p>“It’s chicken tenders,” he explained. “I hope Tango won’t eat them all, because I wanted to have some for dinner.”</p><p>“If Tango don’t eat them all, I will. I had a class over lunch so I didn’t eat.”</p><p>“I’m not your personal chef, Denise,” Whiskey said, as he opened the dorm’s front door.</p><p>“I’m the one picking everyone’s room on roadies, <em>Connor</em>. If I were you, I’d play nice.”</p><p>“Okay, you can take <em>two</em>, and I don’t want to be with Tango <em>and</em> Hops again. My ears still haven’t recovered from last time.”</p><p> </p><p>When they reached Tango’s room on the third floor, they didn’t even have the time to knock that he had slightly opened the door to usher them in.</p><p> </p><p>“Tony, what the hell?” Whiskey asked.</p><p> </p><p>Tango didn’t reply immediately. He just looked at his desk, and mumbled something that neither of his friends managed to understand – and that’s when Ford noticed, on the desk chair:</p><p>There was a tiny, scrappy, brownie kitty.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh my God,” Ford said, a hand on her heart because she honestly needed as much to not die of cuteness overload.</p><p>“Oh my God,” Whiskey said, a hand in front of his mouth because there was no way that Tango did something <em>that</em> stupid, and that he was about to involve them into this.</p><p> </p><p>Tango scratched his cheek, a bit uneasy.</p><p> </p><p>“Okay so, I found a kitty, his name is Doubt Legs Alarm and I’d die for him.”</p><p>“Oh my God you’re so cute,” Ford gushed, going to the little squeaking kitten. “Look at him Whiskey! He’s so cute!”</p><p> </p><p>The kitten didn’t seem to want to be pet, but he instead began to try to bite Ford’s fingers and scratch them. Yeah, he was kinda cute, even if he had matted, uneven fur, that he was almost certainly too thin, plus the small issue that he had, you know, <em>no eyes.</em></p><p>
  
</p><p>“I’m sorry Tango,” Whiskey managed to utter, “but <em>what the fuck did you say his name is?”</em></p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>Doubt Legs Alarm was nicknamed “Doug” while the three friends were sitting in the nearest vet’s waiting room – the kitty in a big cardboard box, because that was the only thing they found to transport him.</p><p> </p><p>“You know you can’t keep him, right?” Ford told Tango.</p><p>“Shhh,” he replied, putting his index in her lips. “Shh.”</p><p>“Tango. Ignoring the issue won’t solve the issue,” Whiskey sighed.</p><p>“Shh,” Tango said, now putting his index on Whiskey’s mouth.</p><p> </p><p>It was soon enough their turn. They entered the vet’s consulting room and Ford carried Doug out of the box to put him on the table – the poor kitty seemed to be terrorised by the whole ordeal, and he was meowing uncontrollably. In the meantime, Tango was telling the vet what he knew about the cat.</p><p> </p><p>“I saw him while taking a shortcut from a class to another,” he explained. “Behind the Murder Stop&amp;Shop, you know?”</p><p>“<em>The Murder Stop&amp;Shop?”</em></p><p>“Yeah, not the racist one, the one where there was a murder a few years back. Anyway. He was meowing between two trashcans and he was alone and eyeless, so…”</p><p>“Well it’s good you took him. He wouldn’t have lasted long out there – his eyes injuries are fresh, they could get infected quickly…”</p><p>“Also he’s not eating. We tried to give him a chicken tender but he didn’t want to try.”</p><p>“A chicken tender.”</p><p> </p><p>The vet was really helpful – gave an age to Doug, probably between two and three months (but it was hard to know because of how thin he was), something to try to soothe his eyes, a thousand of recommendations that Ford dutifully noted on her journal, and prescriptions for worm killers and vaccines.</p><p> </p><p>“You plan to keep him, right?” the vet had asked. “Or do you have someone lined up to take him, a shelter?”</p><p>“No, no, I’m keeping him,” Tango replied straight away.</p><p>“Okay, then we’d need to schedule his neutering…”</p><p> </p><p>He also gave them a lot of advice on what to buy to take care of him, and books to read – he walked them to the front of the clinic, and while Whiskey and Ford were thanking him, the secretary gave Tango the bill for the consultation.</p><p>Ford didn’t manage to see it, but Tango blanched and asked in a quiet tone if payment plans were an option.</p><p> </p><p>She took it on herself to not yell at her friend the second they were out. She waited that they were sitting on the bench at the bus stop, waiting for their ride back to the campus.</p><p> </p><p>“Tango. You can’t keep this cat.”</p><p>“I can. He needs me.”</p><p>“Tango. You live in a dorm room. You can’t have pets. Plus, it’s way too expensive. He’s sick and blind – he’s going to have medical bills way higher than this one. You need to pay for his food, his toys, his litter, for someone to take care of him when we’re on roadies.”</p><p>“But he’s so cute! He’s gonna die out there!”</p><p>“There’s shelters-”</p><p>“He’s blind! Who will want him?” Tango pleaded, holding the cardboard box close to his chest.</p><p>“I know. It’s breaking my heart, too, Tango. But we need to find a solution, quick.”</p><p> </p><p>They needed to, and quick, indeed. The bus to campus stopped right in front of them. Neither moved, and the bus left. Another one would come in twenty minutes anyway. Tango was sombre and Ford looked really upset too.</p><p> </p><p>“He can be our cat, the three of us. We can share the expenses; that would help a lot already. And we can leave him at the Haus,” Whiskey proposed.</p><p> </p><p>Tango and Ford turned towards him, hoping he’d elaborate.</p><p> </p><p>“It’s… Okay I don’t like cats much, but he’s hella cute. And Tango, you obviously care a lot about him, and Ford, I know you want the best for him. So it’s the easiest solution. I know that Bitty had refused a Haus cat when Chowder asked, but if we go in there with a sob story and a cute kitty already on our laps he won’t be able to say no. We’re spending half of our time in the Haus anyway, so we’ll be able to take care of him there. Plus, if he’s at the Haus and even if he’s <em>our</em> cat, we maybe can get the others to chip in with food and all – I know the team would be happy to shower him with toys and stuff. Plus, it’s in the middle of the frat row, so there must be someone in the Haus that knows <em>someone</em> who’d be around when we’re away for roadies.”</p><p>“And for the summer and other breaks, at least one of us three can take him,” Ford reasoned. “That, or as a few guys in the team stay on campus year-long, they’d be happy to Haus-sit him.”</p><p>“And,” Tango concluded, “if we’re the rightful owners of the Haus cat, that he can potentially come and go at our will – surely, that would give us a lot of leverage regarding getting dibs to live there next year.”  </p><p> </p><p>The three Tadpoles looked at each other, and nodded – before they shook hands to seal their perfect plan.</p><p> </p><p>“What about after college?” Tango asked. “If he’s <em>our </em>cat. Who will get him when we graduate?”</p><p>“Well Tango, either one of us gets custody, or I guess that means we’ll have to be roommates in whatever city Whiskey will get an NHL contract in,” Ford joked.</p><p>“Sounds good, haha. Whiskey, please sign with the Jersey Devils.”</p><p>“Wait, <em>what now?</em> I just signed for a <em>third of a blind cat</em>, not for two eternal roommates!<em>”</em></p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>They rehearsed the sob story on the way to the Haus. Ford let her inner theatre kid take over and she was intransigent on their acting, reminding Tango that they’d have to surrender Doug to a shelter if they couldn’t convince Bitty to keep him. It worked, because Tango was nearly in tears when he was sitting in the living-room of the Haus, the kitty on his lap and telling all the Hausmates the story of this poor eyeless kitty who just needed a roof and a lot of love, and isn’t it the best place for him to have all that (and yes, of course, we’d be the ones cleaning the litter)?</p><p>Chowder was bawling his eyes out at the story, Nursey was enamoured with Doug, and Ollie and Wicks were already budging Bitty to <em>please say yes, Cap, you’re not that heartless are you?</em></p><p>After a while, Bitty sighed and reluctantly accepted. Dex was already talking about plans for a cat tree to build.</p><p> </p><p>Doug grew quickly accustomed at the life in the Haus. He was still running into some walls and misplaced furniture on the regular, but he was quiky to map out the entire place, and always knew at which room’s door to meow to get pets and food (he was especially good at tricking different people into giving him two or three dinners a day). During kegsters, he was staying in Chowder’s room, but the rest of the time he liked to hang out in the living-room where there were always people – or in the kitchen, where there was always food.</p><p>Bitty loudly hated the fact and kept complaining about it, but more than once Ford caught him petting or feeding scraps the cat when he was sitting on the counter while Bitty baked. Of course, Tango and Ford did all they can to stay number one in Doug’s heart – but the cat seemed to especially enjoy the company of Whiskey. Probably because Whiskey favourite way to hang out with people and animals was to sit in the same room, without saying a word?</p><p>Doug had become the lucky charm of the team, (everyone <em>needed</em> to pet him before a game or a roadie, or else…) so after Ford just off-handily mentioned that maybe her, Whiskey and Tango would look for an off-campus apartment that would accept cats for the following year, an emergency Haus Meeting was summoned. Neither of them was certain of what was said in it, but the following day, the three of them got dibs, so all went according to the plan.</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p>
<p></p><div class="tumblr">
  <p>[Instagram video: the cat has been brought to Faber and is wearing little cat shoes to walk on the ice. He’s meowing in despair because of how slippery it is.</p>
  <p><strong>@samwellmenshockey </strong>Our mascot is actually playing too – hopefully, he’ll be on the starting line by next semester!</p>
  <p> </p>
  <p>Instagram picture: Doug is wearing a tiny knitted “ZIMME 1” jersey. It’s obvious there wasn’t enough room for the rest of the name. He’s lying on Tango’s stomach who is napping on the couch.</p>
  <p><strong>@samwellmenshockey </strong>Doug is supporting the @FalconersPVD tonight! Obviously that means that the @FalconersPVD will send him some 12 lbs dry food bags, right @FalconersPVD?]</p>
</div><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>“I’m happy we kept this cat,” Tango said one evening, while he was watching a movie, curled under the blankets on the couch next to Ford and Whiskey – petting Doug, who was on Ford’s lap.</p><p>“He’s not half-bad, in the end,” Whiskey agreed, scratching the kitty behind his ears.</p><p>“I saw him do his business on the Lax bro’s porch this afternoon,” Tango said.</p><p>“A cat of good taste and perfect manners. We taught him well,” Ford acquiesced.</p><p>“Are you kidding?” Whiskey asked. “He’s the worst cat! I saw him watching a mouse run in the basement, and he wouldn’t even get up to run after it!”</p><p>“Yeah? And did <em>you</em> get up to run after the mouse Whisk?”</p><p>“Wow, you’re so lazy, Connor.”</p><p>“Will you both stop making fun of me?”</p><p> </p><p>Yep, Ford thought, as Whiskey was throwing at her and Tango popcorn in the face, and Doug jumped to try to catch them. She was happy they kept this cat.</p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>
  <a href="http://insertatitlehere.tumblr.com/">Tumblr</a>
  <br/>
  <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works?utf8=%E2%9C%93&amp;work_search%5Bsort_column%5D=revised_at&amp;include_work_search%5Bfandom_ids%5D%5B%5D=1147379&amp;work_search%5Bother_tag_names%5D=&amp;work_search%5Bexcluded_tag_names%5D=&amp;work_search%5Bcrossover%5D=&amp;work_search%5Bcomplete%5D=&amp;work_search%5Bwords_from%5D=&amp;work_search%5Bwords_to%5D=&amp;work_search%5Bdate_from%5D=&amp;work_search%5Bdate_to%5D=&amp;work_search%5Bquery%5D=&amp;work_search%5Blanguage_id%5D=&amp;commit=Sort+and+Filter&amp;user_id=emimix3">Other OMGCP works</a>
</p></blockquote></div></div>
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